The Savior's Mount
by The Last Promethean
Summary: After the lost Primarch, Prometheus, exited his entrapment in the Warp and failed corruption by Tzeentch- he finds himself ten millenia in the future from when he was last in realspace, in the 41st Millenium. Now as he orbits over his homeworld, he must launch a crusade to take back the forgotten planet... though first he needs his steed, the Fire Sword, a titanic Golden Age ship.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter I

HOMECOMING

IMMEN SAT IN his grav-harness of the drop pod and toyed with his new weapon. The Ocelots had called it a "lasgun" and said it could shoot a hundred and fifty lasers before needing a new cell pack. The device's science behind it escaped Immen and he just stared at the thing.

"They expect us to know how to use these things." said Immen. His usual moralistic tone of voice was strained with fatigue. It has been almost a day since the small sub-fleet escaped from the clutches of Ankara and that hellish place that was called the _warp_. It also seemed like it has been ages since they emerged back into realspace and the surviving Atlanteans pledged allegiance to Prometheus. They were utterly in debt to him with their lives.

Immen's rear guard sat restrained next to him. He seemed as if he was ready to rip himself free and get the first kill. "We don't need to know it inside and out." shot the man. He was aiming the sights at the burning lion of the Ocelot's standard and pretended to pull the trigger. "Just point and shoot."

"A warrior must know his weapon, Prado, or else-"

"Or else what, sir?"

Immen shot a glance at the war-torn veteran. "Or else you die. Then again your shoot first, then shoot again later mentality has kept you alive this whole time."

Prado laughed dryly. "Look sarg, you're in charge 'cause you can call the shots. I'm alive 'cause I'm the one who takes those shots before the enemy does."

"Indeed, just don't go letting the enemy make the first shot now." replied Immen to quickly end the conversation. They had a large task at hand, one to be thought of not lightly. He pulled at the collar of his deep blue Atlantean trench-coat. Not much of the volunteers were refitted with new armor for the drop. It was Prometheus's orders to give the left over scout armor from the _Imperial Vigilante_'s armory to the first volunteers. Veteran or not. Immen guessed it was for the best to not cause dissent amongst his newest followers. Though just about every Atlantean that was saved from the clutches of this warp-hell-thing immediately pledged their allegiance to the man. Even though they were just enemies hours before, they are now the closest allies.

"This is Prometheus, Primarch of the Ocelot legion." came a voice over the vox systems of the drop pods. The voice was clear and riddled with such pride, Immen thought he was about to charge head first into a victorious battle. "If I am correct, I am addressing the remains of the Atlantic Guard."

_Damn right you are._ said Immen to himself.

"Gillus has gone over your mission, briefly I must suspect." began Prometheus. "You are to find the remains of the _Fire Sword_, my personal flagship. This massive construct is almost three times the size of what we call battlebarges in the Imperium of Man, it is very ancient indeed."

"Of course it's ancient!" mocked Than, the demolitionist.

Prometheus paused as if he heard Than call out. "Ah, yes. You will not understand what I meant by ancient, well in some case you do, after all we fought each other blindly in the warp for ten millennia. On the other hand it means it is very, very advanced chunk of metal. In the Empire of man, the older the technology, the better it is. That's the simplest way to put it.

Anyway, his ship will serve as your home- our home. I am tasking you in the precious mission of finding my steed and getting her up here with us. That means you must safeguard the legion serfs sent along with you, since they will know how to make such an ancient beast awaken. Like Thunder."

A long eerie silence followed in wake of the vox channel closing. Immen took the time to try and make sense of what Prometheus brought to light once again, the fact that they were suspended in the warp under some black magic for ten thousand years. Rumor has it that some God wanted Prometheus and tried to _change_ him slowly over years and years, making him relive his death trillions of times until he pledged allegiance to this so called God. This God ruined everyone's life on Ankara and killed billions just for one man, who was something called a Primarch by the warriors of the Ocelots. If Immen knew what a Primarch was, he would have cared, but he didn't and only marveled at the man's power which seemed to be godlike in many ways. Immen decided to stop thinking of the subject and snapped back into reality.

"Pods drop in one minute." rang out a mechanical voice, the ship's artificial intelligence, Demi. Many centuries before the great crusade began, the men of iron rose up to challenge their oppressive rulers. These rulers, their creators, were in fact humans. The men of iron shook the very foundation of man in a bloody war that was eventually won by the will and spirit of the human race. In the aftermath of the rebellion, the Emperor of Mankind has condemned the use of artificial intelligence- giving rise to the use of servitors. Though the Ocelots ignored this law and decided not to erase the AI's from their fleets, which consists of wholly Golden Age ships.

Silence once again swept the drop-pod, the only sound came from the breathing of squad Immen and the thumping of Immen's heart seemingly beat against his ribcage. He did not know what to except on the surface of Thebes, the homeworld of the Ocelots. Gillus, the commander of the first chapter, spoke of how the inhabitants are stuck in very ancient times, still using sword and bow in warfare. There was really no threat, the new weapons and armor they were fitted with were said to be for _precaution_.

The rough voice of Demi spoke out again. "Thirty seconds. All drop-pods move to launch chambers now."

A sudden lurch shook the drop-pod and the sound of machinery sang through the air as Immen's drop-pod was pulled into launch position. After a few seconds the pod shook again once it was locked in place, only a few sheets of thick metal separated Immen from the vast void of space.

"Ten seconds remaining, nine, eight…" began Demi in countdown.

Immen swallowed hard as his thoughts raced and his heart pounded into his throat. "Like thunder." he whispered under his breathe.

"…five, four, three…"

Silent prayers of Vitus, Immen's most trusted man under his command, could be heard under the loud ring of Demi's hard voice. The words, though not being audible, carried some heavy weight across the pod.

"…two, one, launch."

An explosion rocked the pod and the hiss of air decompressing screamed all around the pod as it was slung out of a tube in the side of the _Imperial Vigilante_. The pod was flung at amazing speed, forces unseen pressed Immen into his seat while his grav-harness nearly choked him on the spot.

A few seconds later, the pod shuddered as it entered Thebe's lower atmosphere. A loud deafening scream shot through Immen's ears as the immense forces pulling the pod down ignited the air under the pod's hull. Which added more pressure, sending him further back into his restraints

"Brace yourselves!" yelled Immen over the screech, he held a vox unit given to him by Gillus in his hand. He had the all-squad channel open so all of his Atlantean brothers could hear him. "We have no home to go back to but here. From now on we are no longer Atlanteans, but we are humans. We are Ocelots! Like Thunder!"

"Like Thunder!" came the reply of squad Immen and others on the channel that had a vox unit too. Immen was swelled with much emotion, all of which he could not contain. He let out a single tear of pride and joy, washing himself of the past and steeling himself for the hard future to come. He checked his lasgun one more time to make sure nothing was left unnoticed.

Another shudder rocked the pod as the engines underneath it kicked in to slow it down to a reasonable speed. Without that, there was a high risk that the pod could be crushed on impact, or the passengers would be crushed by the sheer force alone since they did not wear the armor of a space marine.

The yellow light that meant the pod was in falling course blinked to red, which now symbolized the men inside had five seconds to brace for impact. Those five seconds felt like hours to Immen. He tightened his restraints even more and made sure to keep his neck upright in its neck-rest so he did not have to worry about a crushed windpipe.

The neck-rest did not do much when the pod made contact with the earth. The pod let out another hiss to cushion the fall even more, before Immen's head snapped forward in the jolt of impact.

He was pumped with adrenaline which made his recovery time almost instantaneous. Immen was ready for whatever laid waiting- he quickly unstrapped himself from his harness and leapt from the grav-seat. The others did the same and squad Immen stood waiting for the moment to exit the pod and exhale a loud warcry to strike fear into anyone willing to stand in their way.

That moment soon arrived when the charges blew the doors open, the large metal slivers of doors swung down into the dirt with a heavy thud and a cloud of dust. Immen wasted no time- he was already sprinting into the bright light ahead with lasgun outstretched.

* * *

SER LUPUS PARRIED a scimitar with his shield and lashed out to respond with his own sword. His blade cut through a weak spot in armor, tore into flesh, ultimately wedging itself between the man's shoulder blade and his neck. A spurt of blood followed by a steady gush rolling down the black plated armor of his enemy. The gold and ornate trim was tarnished by the crimson red.

"You're… too late… fool." said the warrior as he coughed out his last words in a hack of blood. "They come… in the falling stars… the sky…"

Ser Lupus kicked the dying man to the ground and finished him off with a well-placed thrust in the eye-slits of the knight's black helmet.

As Ser Lupus looked up his eyes narrowed on another man in black robes trimmed in the same gold, his face hidden in a veil of darkness under his hood. The man lifted a slender hand and from it he expelled raw energy in the form of unnatural fire, he was a mage, a psyker.

The ball of fire was unnatural indeed; it burned purple and seemed to instantly turn anything it touches to ashes.

Ser Lupus raised his shield and held his footing as the fireball slammed into his shield. Swirls of purple coiled over the edges and the heat licked his face. The mystic ward on his shield glowed and crackled as it dispelled the evil black magic of the mage.

Another dark clad knight jumped in the way of Lupus before he could make a charge on the mage. Ser Lupus held his shield high to block the knight's overhead swing.

"May the Father grant me his power in my blade." whispered Ser Lupus. The words were of a spell to enchant his blade, and so it did as he activated the blade's own mystic ward. With a wide swing, Ser Lupus cut into the knight's waist with ease, sparks and cracks of lightning hissed from the enchanted sword as he sliced the warrior cleanly in half. The bloody, still armored, halves clanked to the tiled ground loudly.

Ser Lupus put the mage back in his focus to find the man turned to the sky. Remembering the words of the dying knight from moments before, Lupus looked up too.

He looked past the burning walls of Gran Theo, plumes of purple flame and black smoke billowed from holes blown in the capital's walls. The field beyond was stage to a battle that aimed to route the besiegers, but was utterly lost and the remaining men retreated into the false safety of Gran Theo's mighty walls. Lupus looked above it all to lay his eyes upon streaks in the sky. There were many of them. All of them looked like shooting stars across a midday sky, if Ser Lupus had ever seen one.

The falling stars grew closer to Gran Theo and erupted into balls of flame. The things disappeared behind a massive cloud, leaving Ser Lupus to wonder if he had actually seen the balls of fire or if his eyes were playing cruel tricks to get him killed. Seemingly enough, they tore out of the cloud with trails of vapor pouring off them. They were getting much closer, much faster.

Ser Lupus tore his eyes from the impending doom. "To the walls of the castle!" he yelled as he signaled for his comrades to fall back. In response, a distant horn beyond the outer walls of the city was blown and the sound carried itself for miles for all to hear. The ranks of the enemy afoot turned in on themselves and they marched out of the blood soaked street and through the gate of the inner walls, away from Ser Lupus and his defenders.  
The fireballs streaked overhead without warning and let out a loud scream as they went by that shattered windows and deafened Ser Lupus who turned his head to watch the sky-things hit their targets.

One crashed through the highest tower of the castle's keep, knocking it down in a gust of dust and debris. Another clipped the roof of the keep leaving a large burning hole in the main seam. The blue tiles of the keep were sent down in a landslide, while some were thrown in the air.

The ground shook and shuddered as fireball after fireball slammed into the earth. Whatever had just came from the sky, it had made the army that threatened Gran Theo turn heel and run. Perhaps they were leaving for something much worse to finish of the people of Gransum and their desperate ploy to defend their capital. Ser Theo looked up above the castle and his eyes met the towering figure of the Savior's Mount. A gargantuan temple that stood as tall as a few mountains stacked on one another, Gran Theo was descended from the people that were left to attend the Saint's temple when he left. Its boat-like shape was held into place by two massive stone blocks the size of mountains respectively, each known as the East Wing and the West Wing.

No one is allowed to enter the temple itself, only the utmost pious figures of the church are allowed into the Wings along with royalty from Gransum and abroad. The only one who is allowed in the Savior's Mount is the Savior Saint himself once he returns to his world of Thebes.

Maybe, just maybe, the Saint has come in these fallen stars thought Ser Lupus. Though bad news loomed over Gran Theo as a massive eruption of flame spewed up from where the sky-things had fallen.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

ARRIVAL

TO IMMEN'S AVAIL, they had landed in the center of a grand marble plaza, one that almost rivaled the one back on his home planet of Ankara.

"Perimeter check!" called Immen as he scanned their surroundings, training his lasgun on anything that caught his eye. He soon realized the terror streaked faces of locals standing on the edges of the plaza, out of the way. Immen also realized the thousands of bedrolls and tents, accompanied by burnt out fire pits. They had landed in the middle of an evacuation zone, but why was it here?

Immen answered himself as he turned to look at the black plumes of smoke that littered the landscape below. Beyond the castle, he could see nothing but purple fire and smoke.

"Immen! You might want to see this!" yelled Vitus. "Come here, quick!"

He tore himself from the terrified faces, remembering his mission, and jogged over to Vitus. A large hole stood in front of the man, the size of a drop-pod.

"What in the Earth is that?" asked Immen as he slowly stepped his way to the edge of the hole. It was as if a well of blackness was placed in the middle of the plaza. A few streams of sparks occasionally broke the darkness. _What is this place?_ thought Immen.

"Probably a pod fell through," replied Vitus. "And maybe a way into that." he pointed at the huge metal structure in front of them.

Immen turned to look at the titanic hull of a spacecraft- the city was built around it like a forest at the bottom of a mountain. It dwarfed anything he had seen in his life. The thing closely resembled a larger _Imperial Vigilante_ with a sword-like prow and huge turrets resembling seafaring warship mounted on it. "We must get down there..." he said. "Find any possible way, Vitus, while I gather the men."

"Roger that." saluted Vitus who turned to run back to his drop-pod.

* * *

LEMUR USED HIS combat knife to cut himself free from the grav-harness.

"Carpus!" yelled Lemur, the lights of the drop-pod were out and sparking. The only illumination came as a dim glow from fire through the cracks in the wrecked pod. "Valgus, Juntas, Imuran, anyone!"

"Lemur?" responded a voice from the darkness, Lemur immediately recognized it. It was Valgus. The Atlantean melted from the shadows and came into view, dim light glowed off the orange ceramite of his scout armor while the black garbs blended in with the black behind him. A single stream of blood rolled down his face. "Are the others alright?"

"I don't kno- "

"Juntas up…" coughed a voice from across the pod. "…and Imuran is breathing."

"What of Carpus?!" cried Lemur as he jumped from the grav-seat.

He was answered soon enough by the sound of las fire, coming from the outside. In response the members of squad Carpus all heard it, bolter fire.

* * *

"SER, THE ENEMIES have been routed to the outer walls. It seems they are encamping themselves." said a Gransite soldier. His blade was sheathed but the dried blood on his sword hand was enough to tell the tales of heroism the man has went through. The half purple and yellow kite shield he held in his other hand was battered, the stylized imperial eagle of Gransum stood ever vigilant despite scarring.

Ser Lupus was walking at a steady pace and did not take one fault to stop for the man. "Tell the men to retake the gates. I have no time for this." he said. "There are more pressing matters at hand."

"I see, Ser." the soldier scurried away like a rat into the shadows, dodging the armored hulks of Ser Lupus's honor guard.

The north gates to the castle creaked open at the sight of Ser Lupus and the scene of the plaza struck out at him. Large orange objects were littered across the plaza and very odd humans were gathering around something in the middle of the marble plaza.

Ser Lupus's heart skipped a few dozen beats when he saw the burning lion on the shoulder of the men. They seemed to be lightly armored with small orange plates against black cloth- along with a strange piece of metal they held in their hands. About a quarter of the people had the same orange and black armor while others wore dark blue greatcoats with orange tape around their arms, still bearing strange metal contraptions in their hands.

Lupus drew in a large, deep breathe. He held his head high and stepped into the plaza, his sabatons clanking on the marble. Soon the honor guard marched out behind him dragging the same ominous sound with them.

"IMMEN, WE HAVE some locals approaching. They look military." called Vitus, he dropped a bundle of ropes to his feet at the edge of the hole. "What shall we do?"

Immen looked from the pale faces of his Atlantean brothers, a few hundred of them stood around the landing site in a loose formation. His gaze then drew over to a man clad in yellow stained armor with a purple cape that just barely dragged on the ground. His sword was sheathed but his shield was held tight, it oddly resembled the shields that the warriors of the Ocelots carried- but it was much smaller. Even his armor and the men behind him resembled Ocelots clad in shiny yellow.

"Hopefully we don't slaughter them." replied Immen. He raised his hand in the air to signal all weapons at ease. "Squad Fritos with me!"

Seven Atlanteans in scout armor trudged up to Immen and followed him as he began the long walk in approach to the yellow armored warriors.

* * *

"CARPUS!" YELLED LEMUR, the Atlantean kicked a broken panel out of the pod. The dark tunnel almost seemed to grab him with tendrils of pure blackness.

Not so far down the corridor, ruby lasers lit up the silhouette of a man in scout armor. They seemed to find their target in the darkness since in response the end of the hall was too lit up in flames.

"I'm alright!" called Carpus, his voice flowed out of the pitch blackness. "I was attacked by a damn zombie with a gun for an arm."

Lemur turned on a shoulder mounted light to find his way. The light lit up a small portion of the hallway to reveal rusting metal, Lemur shifted himself and illuminated the backside of Carpus. Beyond the Atlantean, the burning lion of the Ocelots was fading on a two-way intersection at the end of the hall.

"That's a relief. The rest of the squad seems to be fine, but Imuran is unconscious." replied Lemur, the tenseness in his voice vanished. He began walking towards Carpus who stood a few yards away. Once he approached him, Lemur focused the light on the fallen enemy. Its pale white and grey skin was charred from the small explosion caused by Carpus, decaying human limbs along with sparking cords were all that remained.

"See," said Carpus. "Gun wielding zombies, I'm telling you."

A smile drew across both men's faces in spite of their horrid circumstance.

"That must be one of the 'servitors' Gillus spoke about." laughed Lemur. "It must have been fitted with one of those bolters and made a guard."

"Plausible, still a zombie."

"I guess it sort of is a zombie."

The sudden sound of wheels rolling across the ground came into earshot and made both men go silent.

"Lights out." whispered Carpus.

Lemur obeyed and flicked the light off. In turn he slid his visor down and activated the filter for low illuminated situations such as this. Everything was instantly bathed in a dull blue-grey.

spat.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

THE BEGINNING

IMMEN HELD THE grip of his lasgun felt as if it would break, he held it ever tightly. He could feel that squad Fritos felt the same as him, ready to slaughter if need be.

"Hail!" called the man in yellow armor; his face gleaming, unscathed and smooth. His high gothic was surprisingly the same accent as most of the Ocelots. Which made understanding him the more easier.

Immen approached him and his throng of heavily armored knights, the walls of the castle played out behind them with a burning keep inside, beyond the gates. Immen cringed as he saw what they had done to their seat of royalty.

"I am Ser Regal Lupus of Gransum," said the man. "This is our mighty capital, Gran Theo. We have recently been besieged by an unforeseen and mysterious foe, who had routed upon your entry. I thank thee." Ser Lupus put his left arm behind his back and took a short, very pompous and aristocratic bow.

"Immen Clustunes, I'm in charge of these men you see." replied Immen with an outstretched hand towards the gathering of Atlanteans behind him.

Ser Lupus tilted his head to the side but never removed his gaze from Immen's. "What are you?" he asked.

"I'm no god," began Immen. "Nor am I an angel of some sort, no."

"We're all human here, I presume."

"Yes, we are." Immen paused. "We are here to find something for our leader."

"Slow down," Ser Lupus was star crossed with confusion. He didn't know how to swallow what is happening. "Where are you from?"

"The sky," Immen pointed up at a peculiar star that hung in the day's sky. "It's a long story."

"And of your leader?" Ser Lupus cocked his head to the opposite shoulder. "Who is he? Why has he sent down such destructive guests?"

"Prometheus, he's the grand leader of magnificent warriors clad in orange. He can extrude flames from the depths of his body, he's a god amongst men." Immen put somewhat of an effort into scaring Ser Lupus, but it was true. "They are cold killers."

None of what Immen said registered with Ser Lupus, Immen could tell since the man's face became twisted with even more misperception. Ser Lupus just nodded and acted like he knew.

"What has this 'Prometheus' lost that he sent you looking for it here?" Ser Lupus asked, drawing a small undertone of skepticism.

"His steed," said Immen. He turned and pointed at the gargantuan and immensely oversized ship just in the horizon. "That."

"You speak of the Saint's temple?" Ser Lupus seemed as if he was drawn aback and dazed even more.

"Temple?" mused Immen. "That's the largest starship I have ever seen in my meaningless existence, that's the _Fire Sword_, if I'm correct."

Ser Lupus drew his blade. "Such blasphemy cannot be spoken!" he yelled. "You should not know of the temple's true name, or its true purpose. That is only for the Saint to know."

Immen raised his lasgun. The rest of squad Fritos did the same and in response, Ser Lupus's knights unsheathed their swords too.

"There's no need for this, I did not mean to offend."

"'Tis too late, stranger." hissed Ser Lupus. "Tell Prometheus to leave my world."

"It's his world." said Immen.

Ser Lupus lowered his sword for a second as if he was considering something unthinkable, but he instantly raised it again. "Blasphemy." he spat.

* * *

WHAT LEMUR SAW almost made him gag. It was human, or used to be. The only parts of it that are human are its torso, head and arms without hands. It rolled across the ground on four wheels and had surgically attached bolters where a human's lower forearm and hand are supposed to be, it looked as if it should be straight out of some damn terrible tale of horror. Though Lemur's heart truly sank when he realized it was looking straight at him, the glowing lenses of its eyes reflected in his night vision, giving its eyes the look of two small suns.

"Damn it Lemur!" yelled Carpus as he rammed his shoulder into Lemur at full force, the Atlantean was sent staggering into the wall. Lemur turned to glance at Carpus who was about to utter out something before the hallway was bathed in a torrent of flashes and the loud clang of bolterfire tore through the air. Lemur watched Carpus being blown to literal pieces by the large caliber rounds of the servitor's boltguns.

"Carpus is down!" Lemur screamed into his vox unit so his squad and any other Atlantean could hear him. "This is squad Lemur, we have a man down!"

The servitor quickly snapped itself to put Lemur in its sights and reloaded its bolts before it began to rain down heavy fire on him. In turn, Lemur took a daring roll and squeezed off a few shots from his lasgun, one las found its way into the servitor's shoulder. The lucky shot threw off the servitor's aim as it jerked back in recoil from the hit. Though in the split second it took for it to readjust itself, Lemur had already found a large piece of rockrete that had been dislodged by the drop-pod. He dared not to look from his cover since he knew that the servitor probably was able to calculate his whereabouts with the help of superior programming and detecting his heat signals.

"Vulgas," whispered Lemur, he was answered by static on the other end of the vox unit.

After a few moments Vulgas came through, "Vulgas here-"

Lemur cut Vulgas off since the only thing he needed was recognition that he was still alive and listening. "We have a situation, Carpus is dead as you heard and I'm pinned by a damned servitor."

"What do you want me to do?" Vulgas paused and Lemur could hear him tell Juntas to keep Imuran still. "I'm helping with Imuran here."

"I don't care what you're doing," Lemur finally mustered up the strength to peer from the rockrete into the darkness, just as expected he saw a muzzle flash then a bolt lodge itself into the rockrete just mere inches from his head. "once that servitor loses interest in me, it will see you guys in-"

The familiar sound of a bolter firing rang out again, though no round hit the rockrete. Instead Lemur heard what could only be the sound of bullets ricocheting off metal. The servitor was opening fire on the drop-pod.


End file.
